| Church of Our Lady of Snow Kallikulam | |
| Location | Kallikulam, Tamil Nadu |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.panimatha.com |
| History | |
| Dedication | St. Mary |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Gothic |
The Church of Our Lady of Snow is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Kallikulam, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centers in India dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In recent times it became popular because of vision and apparition of Mother Mary. Locally, Our Lady of Snow, is known as Panimatha. Panimatha is a Tamil word. In Tamil 'Pani' means 'Snow' and 'Matha' means 'Mother'.[1][2][3]
Contents |
People inhabited Kallikulam as early as 1700 AD. In 1770 AD, a thatched church was built in the name of Holy Mary by village people. In 1884, Kallikulam villagers and Jesuit Missionaries decided to build a new church at Kallikulam for Mother Mary. They were undecided about the location of the church.
According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a few of the village elders in dream and showed them the location of the proposed church. The next day, in the morning, they assembled the clergy and people and went to the indicated place to verify the reality of the marvel. On that hot summer's day in August, they found a snow patch, marking the boundary of the church on the place indicated by Mother Mary. In 1886, a church was constructed in that place and consecrated to Our Lady of Snow.
Every year, the annual feast of Our Lady of Snow is celebrated from 27 July to 5 August. The feast starts with a flag hoisting ceremony on 27 July in the evening. A flag with Our Lady of Snow's image is raised-up onto the flagpole (Kodi Maram in Tamil) situated just opposite to the church. On the 7th day of the feast, in the morning, a special mass is celebrated on the Apparition Hill. On the 9th day, at night, a car procession is conducted. Three very large cars traditionally participate in the procession. Our Lady of Snow's statue is placed on one Car (Ther or Chapparam in Tamil) and taken through the streets. On the 10th day of the feast, at 6.00 am, when the car procession comes to an end, all the cars are finally positioned nearby the church for final prayers and adoration. Then a celebratory high-mass honoring Our Lady of Snows is organized in a grand manner. The feast comes to an end with the special novena to Mother Mary on the 10th day evening.
An oral tradition in Tamil Nadu states that on 29 March 1939 around 6.30 pm, six young people claim that they saw the Mother Mary appear on a hill near to the Church. They informed the parish priest Rev. Father Marianoos and the village people.[4] Marianoos and the people were uncertain about that apparition and decided to request that Mother Mary confirm the apparition. They prayed to Mother Mary and requested confirmation through a natural sign on the following day. The next day, during the hot summer season, the arid zone Kallikulam had an unusual heavy rainfall.